Subject: Samuel Whitbread Academy | E-Newsletter Issue 60 (08/03/17))

The Year 11 students had their final mock exams last week
and I'm pleased to say that the exam team said their behaviour was exemplary.
It's clear to everyone that the Year 11s are extremely focused and determined
to achieve their best, which is great to see. In a school as big as SWA, it
takes an enormous amount of work to organise exams, even mock exams, and it's a
real team effort with site agents, the exam team and our army of invigilators
all working together seamlessly - and I'd like to thank them all for their hard
work.

On Friday, several students took part in the Great British
Spring Clean-up. One team went to the Millennium Park in Shefford and a second
team cleaned outside of school grounds. They collected several bags of rubbish,
including half a children’s scooter!

The second of the ski trips returned safely at the weekend
after another fantastic week of glorious sunshine. Thank you to all staff and
volunteers – particularly Mr Edwards for organising such a successful trip.
There was also success in engineering this week with four Sixth Form students
retaining the Rotary Technology Tournament award in Stopsley.

Performing Arts are on the crest of a wave at the moment.
After an amazing run of shows of 'A Night at the Musicals', which were
outstanding and incredibly well received – the various SWA choirs followed up
with two second places and two first places at the Bedfordshire Music Festival
on Saturday. Miss Talbert was over the moon and clearly very proud of all the
students involved.

The PE department have been busy over the past two weeks
with a whole host of fixtures across various sports, alongside the GCSE PE
practical exams which are in full flow this week. Highlights include the boys
U15 handball team being crowned county champions as well as wins for the boys
hockey team and footballers in Year 9, 10 and 11.

We are now past
the halfway point of the year and, as ever, time is moving very quickly. The
Year 10 Progress Review Evening is just over two weeks away, on 23rd of March.
Appointments will fill very quickly and I recommend that you book yours in
plenty of time. I will personally be seeing the pupils whom I teach but will
try and make myself available at different points throughout the evening. If
you have anything you wish to discuss with me I would advise that you call
reception to make an appointment on a separate day to avoid disappointment.

As always, I
thank you for the continued support with attendance and uniform.

Mr R Sinclair

Year 11

Dear
parents,

I
would like to congratulate Year 11 students who were again exceptional in their
conduct during last week’s mock exams. As with every year in the final holiday
before exams, students will have access to Easter School in certain subject
areas. Timetables are being finalised but provisional dates for this are 5th,
6th, 7th and 10th April. More information will
be given to students from their subject teachers and form tutors, and also will
be in the next newsletter in two weeks’ time. With only two months left it is
important high standards are kept by students so support is greatly appreciated
by you in terms of ensuring uniform is correct and attendance levels are high.

Miss N Kelly

Year 12/13

After an
amazing round of interviews we are very pleased to announce that Kieran Drakes
has been appointed Head Boy, and voting will take place to decide our Head
Girl. Over the next two weeks students and staff will be able to vote for their
preferred candidate and will be deciding between Molly Searle, Georgina Harbord
and Emily Onagoruwa. These candidates have already started their
campaigns and we wish them good luck. Mr Martin, Mr Huckle, Mrs Hoad and Mrs
Bonham were very impressed with all the applicants for Head Boy and Girl, and
all Deputy positions. Our congratulations go to everyone involved in the
process.

Mrs S Hoad

Year 12 PRE will be on 14th March.
Appointments to be made via online parent booking system. The deadline for getting permission
slips and payment in for the Higher Ed Fair has been extended to Wednesday 15th
March.Year 13 Mrs Bonham has been chasing up prom deposits. £5
to be paid by the end of March. Prom date is Friday 7th July.

Sainsbury's vouchers

SWA are
collecting the Sainsbury’s vouchers again this year - there is a box in
reception to drop them off.

Year 9/10 Ski Trip

Last
week, 33 students from Years 9 and 10 enjoyed a fantastic week of skiing in
Alpe d'Huez, France. Students enjoyed 12 blocks of two hour ski lessons with
ESF ski instructors over 6 days and a wide range of evening entertainment that
included ice laser tag, bum boarding, karaoke, an ESF ski show, quiz and award
nights. All students made excellent progress, five beginners were skiing blue
runs by the end of the week and the remaining intermediate and advanced skiers
improved their technique both on and off piste. ESF commented that some of the
advanced skiers were the best they had seen from the UK. GCSE PE students who
chose skiing as an option also had their ski ability assessed and video
recorded. There was a good mix of weather including sun, heavy snow and low
cloud which gave the students an insight into mountain weather. Thank you to
all those who attended and made it such a great trip.

Rotary Technology Tournament

Last Friday, five
teams of Design Technology & Engineering students took part in this year’s
Rotary Technology Tournament held in Stopsley. Teams were competing against
other schools within Central Bedfordshire in three categories; foundation,
intermediate and advanced. Although the challenge set was based on the same
topic for all three groups, the difficulty of the challenge was altered for
each category. All students competed well in their teams, showing excellent
teamwork, communication and presentation skills to take on the challenge at
hand and come up with a solution to the problem set. The ‘advanced’ team
consisting of Hettie Rogers, Emilia de Luca, Cameron Burgess and Aaron
Robertson were victorious in their category, bringing home the trophy for the
second year running. Congratulations to all those who took part.

School Governors

Would you
like a say in key decisions affecting your child’s school and education? Can
you commit to approximately 2 evenings per term and the occasional all school
(fun) events? Then why not join a thriving school governing board? SWA is
looking to appoint people to the team of school governors. or further
information or to arrange a visit to the school please contact: principalspa@bestacademies.org.uk

DT&E thank you

Having sent out a
communication asking for old petrol mowers we were fortunate to get offers from
six people within our community. The mowers are being put to good use for the
Year 12 BTEC Engineers as they embark on their unit of work involving
dismantling and reassembly of the mechanics involved. Thank you to your
continued support with Engineering at SWA.

Question SLT

On 14th
of March a meeting will be held in the Theatre at 1:15pm and it is
open to anyone. The meeting is an opportunity to question a member of the SWA
Senior Leadership Team about school decisions and policies and also
suggest improvements to the school. Mr Gibbs will be present to answer any
questions students may have. This is a good opportunity for students to have
their voice heard. Please contact 12cabrahams@mybest.org.uk
with any enquires you may have.

Artist of the Month

The Artist of the Month goes to Belle Coleman 12K. The below image is a large, mixed media portrait created using packing paper, pencil and collage. It is a really striking piece when you enter the room, keep up the great work Belle.

A Night at the Movies

Congratulations to all students from across the trust that
were involved our annual musical 'A Night at the Movies'. Show week had a
fantastic buzz and every student shone on the stage! The audience were
extremely responsive each night; with a huge sell out on the final performance
on Friday. There were so many fantastic comments from parents, staff and
members of the local community of who were impressed with the high standard of
talent that we have and how it was such an enjoyable evening. Well done to all
the cast and crew involved; many months of hard work came down to an incredible
show week - here's to the next performance! To all cast and crew involved;
don't forget the celebration evening on Friday 24th March. Email Miss Tabert
for more details if needed.

Spring Concert

Tickets are now on sale from the finance office for the Spring Music Concert, Wednesday 29th March 7pm.

Rotary Young Musician of the Year

Congratulations to Harvey Church who performed at the
District Final of the Rotary Young Musician of the Year on Sunday. The
adjudicators commented on Harvey's excellent technique and his abundance of
passion which clearly comes across when he performs.

Well done Harvey!

Battle of the Bands

On Tuesday 21st March, our Academy Band 'Retroplay' will be
performing in the County Battle of the Bands competition at the Stables in
Wavendon. The students have been working extremely hard to prepare for this
event and are very excited to perform on such a professional stage. The music
department wants to wish them a big GOOD LUCK!

SWA Choir

Saturday saw SWA’s three choirs competing at the
Bedfordshire Music Festival and all students were fantastic ambassadors for the
school. ‘SWAcapella’ competed first – they arrange their own music and are
entirely student led – and performed incredibly well in securing second place.
There was special mention to Harvey who was cited as the next Gareth Malone by
the judge! SWA Choir competed later in the day, against Mark Rutherford and
Harmony Voices (a selective county choir who have traditionally won most
competitions). The choir performed with such energy and received some fabulous
comments from the judges and secured a deserving 1st place! Later in
the evening our Chamber Choir competed in two classes. They performed
extremely well and secured another first place for SWA! Their final class was
also another great performance, securing a second. Well done to all involved in
a fantastic series of performances!

U15 Boys Handball

The U15 Boys were victorious in their pursuit of becoming
the best side in Bedfordshire. In their first game SWA beat Van Dyke 8-5 as
they worked the ball up the court with confidence and created very good goal
scoring opportunities which they took full advantage of, with Tom Litchfield
a Liam Holland top scoring. Defensively, the boys put in a huge effort,
working hard and making regular blocks, with Josh Chew and James
Allen working tirelessly as they had the thankless task of pressing. In
their second game, it was a similar story, Tom Litchfield again top
scoring, with Josh Chew and James Allen scoring some very good
individual efforts as they secured the title.

Badminton

Yesterday the Year 9 boys badminton squad attended the
All England Open at the Barclaycard Arena. This is the third largest tournament
in the world behind the Olympics and World Championships. The boys had a great
day watching the world’s best players and cheering on the English and Scottish
team members. All students were exceptional and great ambassadors for the
school. Let’s hope these boys were inspired by the talents on show and will
push themselves to reach these heights.

U16 Boys Hockey

The boys travelled to Biddenham for their latest league
game. They played very well, moving the ball quickly around the pitch, creating
plenty of opportunities. As they opened the scoring through Jamie Parkes,
goalkeeper Charlie Garwood went down injured, meaning we had to play a
man down, with Callum Wood filling in as a kicking back (outfield player
with goalkeeping privileges). As the game went on, the team grew in strength
and SWA ran out 8-0 winners, with Liam Stevens, Luke Breacher and
Jamie Parkes scoring the majority of the goals. Callum Wood was
called into action a couple of times as he improvised brilliantly to make saves
from the Biddenham forwards.

U14 Basketball

Last Monday, both boys and girls U14 basketball squads
travelled to the Regional Finals to take on some of the best teams in the country.
The girls travelled to Greensward Academy in Essex and came up against an
incredibly strong side that played some excellent basketball. The girls dug in
and their performance improved with each quarter played as they showed more
confidence on the ball and created some good scoring opportunities. MVP was Emma
Moore who worked tirelessly to keep Greensward’s score as low as possible
and top scored as she drove at the basket with purpose to keep the Whitbread
score ticking over. It was a similar story for the boys who travelled to Queens
School in Watford. Despite the opposition being strong, quick and technically
brilliant in securing victory, SWA were determined to show their ability and Lewis
Smart and Ben Stevens in particular were excellent.

U18 Rugby

On Wednesday the 1st XV rugby team
travelled to Hills Road Sixth Form College for a friendly game. The game was
extremely close the whole way through and with an exciting finish it ended
10-10. With torrential rain and a boggy pitch it was never going to
be a spectacle but the boys battled hard to come back from 10-3 down to score
in the last play of the game. The early exchanges of the match became a
physical battle with neither team being able to handle the slippery ball, SWA
eventually forced themselves into the opposition 22 and got a penalty right in
front of the posts. The game continued with Hills Road fighting back and
eventually scored a couple of well worked tries but were unable to convert
which took the game to 10-3. With a nervous finish, Sean Judge
managed to muscle his way, after a series of “pick and goes”, over the line to
score right in the corner. Lucas Town had the last kick of the game, a
very difficult conversion attempt, and incredibly slotted it to give the game
the dramatic finish it deserved.

U14 Football

The A team football boys began their District League
season with victory at Mark Rutherford. A tough first half coupled with a
poor performance from SWA left the side 1-0 down at half time. However
the team turned it around in the second half, to dominate the match and win
3-1. Goals came from Harry Butler, Josh Eytle & Matt
Moloney.

With a strong squad the Year 9 ‘B’ team turned in a 3-1
victory against Robert Bloomfield Academy last week. The boys started a little
slow and struggled to get the ball down and play, however towards the end of
the first half the lads grew in confidence and started to get on top. With a
few chances that fell to Max Whitaker-Mead, SWA started to look
threatening, the first goal came from a lovely through ball played by Charlie
Robinson and finished off by Max Whittaker-Mead. Bloomfield managed
to score an equaliser which then influenced the boys to step up their game, the
second came from once again Max who slotted the ball into the bottom
corner calmly and the third fell to Fred Steer who was on the edge of
the box and was able to strike the ball cleanly into the back of the net! Some
excellent football played by the boys throughout, well done.

U16 Boys Football

Last week the U16 boys travelled to Redborne for a tough
opening District League game against a side that have had a good National Cup
run this year. The boys played outstandingly, dictating the speed and direction
of play, creating some excellent chances. Alex Moore opened the scoring
with a powerful header into the roof of the net from a corner, only for
Redborne to draw level early in the second half. Sam King showed great
composure to bring the ball down before calmly slotting the ball into the side
netting to make it 2-1 and Nathan Cowan made some excellent saves to keep
Redborne at bay, but excruciatingly the opposition scored in the last minute
from a corner to make it 2-2.

Show my Homework

We an online system for setting homework. The site is called 'Show My Homework' and can be accessed here. All pupils have been given a username and password for parents and carers, so you can monitor the work being set and the quality of the homework being completed by your children. Please follow the link if you wish to know more about the website and the functions it has to offer parents and carers.

If your child is already receiving Free School Meals please remind them that they are entitled to £2.20 per day. It is advised that they use this amount at lunch time when they will get the best deal for their money. If the amount is not used it is not carried over to the next day, it will be removed and £2.20 will be credited to the account on a daily basis.

If there are any problems using the Biometric Finger Print System please speak to one of kitchen staff either behind the counter or in the office. If your child feels uncomfortable approaching the kitchen staff then please go to the year team pastoral officer.

Please be aware that the process for using the biometric finger print is exactly the same for children using free school meals or paying for school meals.

School Closure Arrangements due to Severe WeatherPlease find information below from Central Bedfordshire Council for parents/carers to register to receive school closure alerts:In order to receive an e-mail alert via the Central Bedfordshire Schools’ Open Status (SOS) system, you will need to register: • Click here• Click on 'register for updates' and fill in the text boxes • Click on 'submit' You will then receive an email which contains instructions on how to 'activate' your account which will include a 'one off' activation code. • Click here• Go to 'Log in to edit your details' and type in your email address and the activation code. • The next time you want to edit your details (e.g. change the names of schools you wish to receive alerts for) type in your email address and password. Please do not try to ring radio stations to find out if schools will be closed. Telephone lines will be busy and this may prevent a vital call reaching the News Centre. Please listen to the radio or access the website for confirmation. If you have an existing account but have lost your login details please send an e-mail to sos@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk to have your details refreshed. For further information, please click here (APPENDIX C S)

Free School Meals - Are you Entitled?

If you would like to find out if you are entitled for your child to receive Free School Meals please contact Customer Services at Central Bedfordshire on 0300 300 8306. Please have the following information ready: national insurance numbers and dates of birth for you and your partner, dates of birth for your children, and if you receive support from the National Asylum Support Service, your NASS number. You may qualify if your child attends a school full time in the Central Bedfordshire area, and you get any of the following: Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, The Guarantee element of State Pension Credit, Support from the National Asylum Support Service, Child Tax Credit (but not Working Tax Credit) and you have an annual income that does not exceed £16,190.

If you do not live in Central Bedfordshire area but your child attends a school in Central Bedfordshire full time, then you should apply to Central Bedfordshire Council, on 0300 300 8306. You will be informed if you are entitled to free school meals when you telephone, any problems verifying the entitlement will be discussed during the call. Please be advised that you can only apply for Free School Meals through Central Bedfordshire, Samuel Whitbread cannot process the application.

Young Carers

Our website now has links to organisations that offer advice and support for all the family along with young carers chat forums . Also you will find application forms for grants along with guidelines to help in making it easier to access any financial support you may need.

Adopted ChildrenIf your child is adopted from care, under a special guardianship order or a residency order, we can claim extra funding from the government to support them in their progress at school. The funding is part of the Pupil Premium Grant and we can use it for all sorts of support from 1:1 tutoring to help with equipment, revision guides and trips.

Free drop in information sessions are available for parents/carers with children with SEND. Click here to read more information.

Service Families

Samuel Whitbread is committed to supporting our service families. If you think you are going to be posted please contact Thomas Rowell (trowell@bestacademies.org.uk) so that he can help your child's transition go as smoothly as possible. We understand your circumstances might change again and that's OK. Kelly Furphy kfurphy@bestacademies.org.uk will also assist in any transition procedure and documentation needed.

Drop in Sessions

Drop in sessions with the school nurse are available every Thursday breaktime in room 403. If students have any issues ranging from diet to bullying they can book an appointment with the nurse by visiting Mrs Ward in the First Aid room.

Safeguarding TeamWe take the
safeguarding of our students very seriously at SWA and the safety and
protection of our students is paramount in all that we do on a day to day basis.
Mark Gibbs, Associate Principal, is the Designated Safeguarding Lead at the
Academy.

If you do have any concerns about any of the students about their
safety please contact a member of the Safeguarding team to discuss your
concerns or contact The Central Bedfordshire HUB on 0300 300 8585.

ParentinfoSamuel
Whitbread is always looking for ways to support our students and keep parents
informed of the latest issues and concerns that are facing our students. We
are registered with Parent Info and this can be reached through an icon on
the school website. Parent Info provides high quality
information for parents and carers about their children's wellbeing
and resilience. The service is free and offers advice and guidance on a
wide range of subject matter, from difficult topics about sex,
relationships, the internet, body image and peer
pressure to broader parenting topics
like ‘how much sleep do teenagers need?’ In line with CEOP’s Thinkuknow
programme (also on the school website), some of the content covers Internet
safety, but it all starts from the assumption that young people make little
distinction between their online and offline lives and the issues for parents
are often the same. The aim is to help parents help their children be
discriminating, web-literate and resilient.

Pupil Premium

You may have received an email from us recently about the Pupil Premium funding that we have available to support some of our students. There is an application form on our website that you can use to request any support from the school - click here to see. All application forms or any requests for further information should be sent to trowell@bestacademies.org.uk

Students must sign in at the Attendance Office if they arrive late or sign out/in if they leave/return during the Academy day. Please ensure that students have written permission enabling them to sign out.

Please note that the Attendance Office has moved to Room 337.

All parents need to sign in at reception whenever they visit the site.

Holidays

We would like to remind Parents and Carers of the regulations regarding holidays. The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 and Central Bedfordshire advise that unless special circumstances* are identified then term time holidays should not be authorised. *Special circumstances are defined as:

‘For service personnel and other employees prevented from taking holidays outside term-time if the holiday will have minimal disruption to the pupil’s education’ and ‘when the family needs to spend more time together to support each other after a crisis.’

These changes aim to minimise the impact of absence during the school year.

Holiday Request Forms can be collected from the Attendance Office (Room 337).

If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs A Martin – 01462 628041 or

This is an online snapshot of a newsletter created by the owner of parentcarer (Samuel Whitbread Academy, Samuel Whitbread Academy, Shefford Road, SG17 5QS Clifton, United Kingdom) and sent via GetResponse on 2017-03-09. Report abuse